After A While Crocodile: Alexa's Diary

by Dr. Brady Barr, Susan Detwiler, Jennifer Keats Curtis

Overview

Alexa and the other children at her escuela in Costa Rica have a special project: they are raising American Crocodiles. She names her croc Jefe, which means "boss," because he seems to be in charge of all the other babies. Alexa brings him chicken and frogs to eat, and writes about his progress in her diary. Soon, her little hatchling is as big as a loaf of bread. He has grown into a juvenile and it is time for Alexa to say goodbye and for Jefe to return to the wild. This nonfiction picture book with a cuddle factor includes a 4-page For Creative Minds section in the back of the book and a 20-page cross-curricular Teaching Activity Guide online. After A While Crocodile is vetted by experts and designed to encourage parental engagement. Its extensive back matter helps teachers with time-saving lesson ideas, provides extensions for science, math, and social studies units, and uses inquiry-based learning to help build critical thinking skills in young readers. The Spanish translation supports ELL and dual-language programs. The enhanced ebook reads aloud in both English and Spanish with word highlighting and audio speed control to promote oral language skills, fluency, pronunciation, text engagement, and reading comprehension.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781628558371
Publisher:	Arbordale Publishing
Publication date:	08/10/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 9 Years

About the Author

Dr. Brady Barr is a reptile expert and television personality. In over 20 years, he's traveled to more than 80 countries for National Geographic Television to host over 100 wildlife documentaries. Among his many notable achievements, Brady was the first person to ever capture and study all 24 species of crocodilians in the wild. He is the author of multiple children's books about reptiles, a frequent contributor to National Geographic Kids magazine, an ambassador for Nat Geo's Young Explorers Program in Asia, and an educator at the National Geographic Explorers Club for Kids.

Susan Detwiler is the illustrator of several books for children including the award-winning books On the Move (NSTA-CBC Outstanding Trade Book); Big Cat, Little Kitty (Mom's Choice Awards Gold); Pandas' Earthquake Escape (Mom's Choice Awards Gold); and One Wolf Howls (Silver Nautilus Book Award) for Arbordale. She is the author/illustrator of Fine Life For A Country Mouse. Susan is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators. Books have always been a source of joy in her life, and as a child she particularly loved books with beautiful illustrations. Susan was educated at the Maryland Institute College of Art and lives with her artist husband in Baltimore. Visit her website: http://www.susandetwiler.com/

Award-winning nature author Jennifer Keats Curtis is frequently found among students and teachers, talking about literacy and conservation. In addition to Moonlight Crab Count, After A While Crocodile: Alexa's Diary, The Lucky Litter: Wolf Pups Rescued from Wildfire, the Animal Helpers series, Baby Owl's Rescue, Kali's Story (Children's Choice Book Award 2015), Salamander Season, Primate School, and Turtles In My Sandbox for Arbordale, some of Jennifer's other recent titles include Seahorses, Osprey Adventure and Saving Squeak: The Otter Tale. She lives in Maryland with her family and a wide variety of pets. Visit her website at www.jenniferkeatscurtis.com.

Editorial Reviews

"With a mixture of photographs and retro-style illustrations, this enlightening offering will entertain and educate readers - School Library Journal

From the Publisher

09/01/2016
K-Gr 3—Readers follow Alexa, a young girl from Costa Rica, as she nurtures and cares for a baby crocodile named Jefe. The book is formatted like a diary, with each spread beginning a new day and a new learning opportunity for Alexa. In addition to detailing her daily tasks (feeding Jefe pieces of chicken, measuring his growth, and tracking his development), the narrative incorporates general information on crocodiles. Readers will learn of the differences among alligators, caimans, and crocodiles. A number of Spanish words (with their English translations directly following in parentheses) appear throughout the work. An introductory note explains that Alexa's story is a fictionalized portrayal of a real program in Costa Rica that allows young students to temporarily care for a baby crocodile. With a mixture of photographs and retro-style illustrations, this enlightening offering will entertain and educate readers. Moreover, the large font allows for this title to be used as a read-aloud in a classroom environment. The authors stress the importance of safety and learning to live peacefully with our crocodile neighbors. VERDICT Purchase to complement elementary science curricula on reptiles.—Kathia Ibacache, Simi Valley Public Library, CA

School Library Journal